•Antigorite serpentinite undergoes fracturing at supralithostatic pore fluid pressure.•Antigorite precipitation in fractures allows further failure events.•Newly precipitated antigorites locally ...deform by dislocation creep after fracturing.•The cyclic brittle–viscous deformation may be linked to episodic tremor and slip.
Episodic tremor and slip (ETS) events in the forearc mantle wedge of a warm subduction zone may reflect mixed brittle–ductile deformation of serpentinite in association with high pore fluid pressures. To understand deformation mechanisms and processes occurring in the hydrated mantle wedge, we examined in the Sanbagawa metamorphic belt, SW Japan, an antigorite serpentinite shear zone derived from mantle wedge that was formed under pressure and temperature conditions that correspond to the ETS regions. The serpentinite underwent multiple extensional (mode I) and extensional–shear (mode I–II) failure events at supralithostatic pore fluid pressures (Pf). Such failure events led to drops in Pf (several MPa) and formation of a distributed ‘fault–fracture mesh’. Antigorite precipitation in the fracture openings contributed to an increase in Pf until the failure condition was reached again, and thereby antigorite kinetics controlled the recurrence interval of seismic events. We also suggest that under the low-Pf conditions that facilitate intracrystalline plasticity rather than cataclasis, the newly precipitated antigorite aggregates (localized along shear bands) deform by dislocation creep at a high strain rate and high shear stress, resulting in the transient, accelerated viscous creep that may characterize slow slip transients.
Seismic anisotropy is a powerful tool for detecting the geometry and style of deformation in the Earth's interior, as it primarily reflects the deformation-induced preferred orientation of ...anisotropic crystals. Although seismic anisotropy in the upper mantle is generally attributed to the crystal-preferred orientation of olivine, the strong trench-parallel anisotropy (delay time of one to two seconds) observed in several subduction systems is difficult to explain in terms of olivine anisotropy, even if the entire mantle wedge were to act as an anisotropic source. Here we show that the crystal-preferred orientation of serpentine, the main hydrous mineral in the upper mantle, can produce the strong trench-parallel seismic anisotropy observed in subduction systems. High-pressure deformation experiments reveal that the serpentine c-axis tends to rotate to an orientation normal to the shear plane during deformation; consequently, seismic velocity propagating normal to the shear plane (plate interface) is much slower than that in other directions. The seismic anisotropy estimated for deformed serpentine aggregates is an order of magnitude greater than that for olivine, and therefore the alignment of serpentine in the hydrated mantle wedge results in a strong trench-parallel seismic anisotropy in the case of a steeply subducting slab. This hypothesis is also consistent with the presence of a hydrous phase in the mantle wedge, as inferred from anomalously low seismic-wave velocities.
Celotno besedilo
Dostopno za:
DOBA, IJS, IZUM, KILJ, NUK, PILJ, PNG, SAZU, SIK, UILJ, UKNU, UL, UM, UPUK
Dunite bands and dikes in ophiolitic mantle peridotites are interpreted as fossil melt channels within the suboceanic mantle. Concordant dunite bands (i.e. fossil melt channels transposed by outward ...transportation from the ridge axis via horizontal mantle flow) are particularly important as they possibly represent the melt channels through which the parental melts of mid-ocean ridge basalt (MORB) were transported to shallower depths beneath the paleo-ridge axis. We conducted field observations and sampling of concordant dunite bands (CDB) and their host harzburgite at selected outcrops covering a wide depth range in the mantle section along an inferred paleo-ridge segment in the northern to central part of the Oman ophiolite. The CDB increase in thickness and decrease in frequency upward. They are thicker and more frequent in the centre of the segment than near the segment ends when compared at the same stratigraphic level. The CDB consist mostly of olivine with minor spinel and very rare amounts of pyroxene. Clinopyroxene has a small grain size and an interstitial position relative to olivine. The constituent minerals in the CDB and their host harzburgite were analyzed by electron microprobe for major elements and by laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry for trace elements. Most of the CDB have refractory major element mineral compositions, such as high Fo 100Mg/(Mg+Fe) in olivine (>90.5), high Cr# Cr/(Cr+Al) in chromian spinel (>0.50), and low Al sub(2)O sub(3) (<3.5wt %) in clinopyroxene. Chondrite-normalized trace element patterns of clinopyroxene in the host harzburgites consistently show a gentle decrease from heavy REE (HREE) to middle REE (MREE) and a sharp decrease from MREE to light REE (LREE) (=highly depleted), but those in the CDB show weaker LREE depletion, which is more variable depending on the stratigraphic level and position along the paleo-ridge segment. In contrast, the HREE concentrations in clinopyroxene in the CDB are higher than or similar to those of the host harzburgites. Trace element compositions of clinopyroxene in the CDB and their host harzburgites are evaluated with a one-dimensional, steady-state, open-system decompressional melting-reaction model. The modeling results suggest that an LREE-enriched melt generated at high pressure was transported upwards through melt channels to the shallow mantle (up to the Moho transition zone), where it mingled with highly depleted melts accumulated from fractionally melted peridotites to generate normal (N)-MORB-like melts. The mantle started upwelling (=melting) in the garnet stability field in the segment centre, but either in the garnet or in the spinel stability field near the segment ends. This suggests a variation of geothermal gradient along the paleo-ridge segment: higher in the segment centre and lower near the segment ends. This inference is supported by the presence of thicker (up to 250cm) CDB as well as more frequent occurrence of CDB in the segment centre than near the segment end and by the geochemical evidence for chromatographic N-MORB-like melt percolation into the host peridotite only in the uppermost horizons near the segment ends.
Needle-shaped rutile inclusions occur in garnet within the quartz-eclogite at Mt. Gongen in the Sanbagawa belt, central Shikoku. They are approximately 5-25 µm along the long axis and are typically ...oriented along three directions, each intersecting at 120°. This indicates that the needle-shaped rutile is a lamella exsolved from the garnet. Garnet with needle-rutile inclusions is restricted to the quartz-poor domain of the quartz eclogite sample, which consist of quartz, garnet, omphacite, phengite, epidote, kyanite, and hornblende. Garnet grains with rutile lamellae show a composition of the almandine-pyrope series with 14-21 mol% grossular content. Rutile exsolution lamellae were concentrated in the range of 27-34 mol% pyrope of garnet crystals. The garnet host with rutile lamellae has a higher TiO2 content (TiO2 = 0.06-0.19 wt%) than those in rutile-free areas. These chemical compositional characteristics suggest that Ti was incorporated into the crystal structure during garnet growth and subsequently partially exsolved as rutile lamellae during the retrograde stage. Rutile lamellae in garnet have generally been regarded as indicators of ultrahigh-pressure metamorphism, but the present report from quartz-eclogite of the Sanbagawa belt, where no coesite has been found, provides evidence in a natural sample that the appearance of rutile exsolution lamellae is not necessarily under ultrahigh-pressure conditions.
To assess the geometry of cracks in highly altered peridotites, we analyzed the ultrasonic velocity of serpentinized dunites and harzburgites collected by the Oman Drilling Project (Holes BA1B, 3A, ...and 4A). First, we estimated the hydrated fraction from grain density to obtain the porosity-free matrix velocity, which indicated complete serpentinization at shallow depths and decreasing hydration at greater depths. We assume that the difference between the solid matrix and measured onboard ultrasonic velocity is attributed to cracks with a spheroidal shape in the samples. Application of the effective medium theory to onboard data, such as P-wave velocity and porosity, indicates that the average pore aspect ratio is mostly between 0.1 and 0.01, and crack density varies from 0.58 to 0.02. We found a positive relationship between aspect ratio and hydrated fraction, suggesting a change in crack shape related to dissolution–precipitation processes during hydration. The relatively high aspect ratio and hence high fluid flux at shallow depths are also consistent with the onboard resistivity data and present-day hydration processes inferred from the borehole fluid chemistry. The inversion of ultrasonic data provides a series of elastic moduli that can be used to make a rough approximation of Poisson's ratio from the onboard data, which is a key physical property for interpreting geophysical observations in the oceanic lithosphere.
•Crack geometry of altered peridotite inferred from onboard velocity and porosity data.•Positive relationship between crack aspect ratio and hydration of altered peridotite.•Present-day hydration suggested by the depth-dependent crack geometry of core samples.
Spinel peridotite xenoliths from the Ichinomegata Volcano (NE Japan) have distinct foliations defined by compositional layering between olivine-rich and pyroxene-rich layers as well as lineations ...defined by elongated spinel grains. Crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) of olivine are consistent with slip on (010)100 and {0kl}100. The angles between the foliation and the olivine slip planes decrease with increasing values of the J-index (i.e. CPO strength). Such composite planar relationships within the peridotite xenoliths could result from shearing in the uppermost mantle, so that shear strains can be estimated by the angles between the foliation and the olivine slip plane in terms of simple shear strain (0.31–4.26). From these observations, we argue that a suite of the peridotite xenoliths recorded a rare snapshot of uppermost-mantle flow related to back-arc spreading during the opening of the Japan Sea. The peridotite xenoliths with higher J-indices (i.e. higher shear strain) tend to have slightly lower minimum temperatures, possibly defining a vertical strain gradient in the uppermost mantle section at the time of the volcano's eruption. The CPO data have been used to calculate the seismic properties of the xenoliths at PT conditions obtained from geothermobarometry, and are compared to field geophysical data from the literature. Our results are consistent with a roughly EW-oriented fastest P-wave propagation direction in the uppermost mantle beneath the northeast part of the Japan arc. Average samples are calculated based on three different structural reference frames; horizontal plane parallel to 1) foliation, 2) the plane containing the maximum concentration of olivine 100, and 3) P-wave maximum direction. S-wave anisotropy deduced from CPOs requires a reasonable thickness of the anisotropic layer (24.1–26.6km), and the structural reference frame does not have significant effect on the estimation of thickness. Consequently, Ichinomegata peridotites record a long and complicated tectonic history; they preserve deformation ‘frozen in’ during back-arc spreading and this deformation also has an effect on present-day mantle flow.
•We present detailed microstructural analysis of peridotite xenoliths from Ichinomegata, NE Japan.•Olivine CPOs are consistent with slip on (010)100 and {0kl}100.•We calculated shear strain using angle between the foliation and the olivine slip planes.•A vertical strain gradient was in place form the upper to lower in the uppermost mantle.
Mantle deformation processes leading to seafloor spreading are often difficult to infer due to the highly serpentinized and weathered state of most abyssal peridotites. We investigated the ...development of high-temperature crystal-plastic deformation and lower temperature mylonitization processes in relatively fresh (<50% modal serpentine) and ultra-fresh (<1% serpentine) mantle peridotites derived from the heterogeneous mantle in the sparsely magmatic zone of ultraslow-spreading Gakkel Ridge system by analyzing 12 peridotites from two dredge sites (<1 km apart). Microstructurally, these 12 peridotites consist of seven high-T deformed samples and five mylonites. Modally, the 12 samples include harzburgites, lherzolites, an olivine websterite, and a plagioclase-bearing lherzolite. Based on their mineral major and trace element compositions, the lherzolites, harzburgites, and olivine websterite are residual peridotites. The lherzolites containing clinopyroxenes with flat REE patterns likely underwent refertilization with a high influx of melt. The plagioclase-bearing lherzolites probably formed by subsolidus reaction after the partial melting process. Microstructural observations support that high-T crystal-plastic deformation (most likely at temperatures exceeding 1000 °C) was active in the peridotites of the high-T deformation group, accommodating mantle flow beneath the Gakkel Ridge. The identified melt refertilization process may have contributed to the formation of 010-fiber olivine fabrics in these peridotites. Mylonitic microstructures, decreasing fabric strength and grain-size reduction of olivine suggest that mylonitization occurred under relatively low-temperature mantle conditions (~800 °C) and probably accommodated strain localization. Water did not greatly affect the peridotites during the development of the shear zones, although amphibole with “dusty” zones developed in one mylonitic peridotite after mylonitization, indicating that late-stage metasomatism occurred locally within the shear zone. This low-T mylonitization is likely to have affected mantle peridotites of this region independently of petrogenetic processes. The development of these deformation processes in Gakkel Ridge suggests a shift from flow in the uppermost mantle to shear zone formation in the rift valley walls.
•Complex partial melting and refertilization developed in the heterogeneous mantle.•Peridotites later underwent mantle-flow to shear-zone plastic deformation.•Deformation in peridotites developed independent of petrogenetic processes.
Multiple generations of amphibole may form in the lower crust due to magmatism and metamorphism during the development of oceanic core complexes. We investigated the occurrence and chemical ...compositions of amphibole in gabbro mylonites from the medial area of the Godzilla Megamullion along the Parece Vela Rift in the Philippine Sea. The samples contain brown and green amphiboles with a variety of different textures that may have different origins. The brown amphibole occurs mainly as blebs in clinopyroxene porphyroclasts (Bleb amphibole), the rims around clinopyroxene porphyroclasts (Coronitic amphibole), and as porphyroclasts and fine-grained amphibole within the matrix (Matrix amphibole). The trace element and Cl contents of the bleb and green amphiboles indicate magmatic and metamoprhic origins, respectively. The bleb amphibole is interpreted to have crystallized from a hydrous silicate melt derived from an oxide gabbro-forming melt prior to retrograde metamorphism. In contrast, the compositions of the coronitic amphibole and matrix amphibole vary between those of typical magmatic and metamorphic amphiboles, suggesting that the amphibole-forming reactions were continuously retrogressive. Retrograde metamorphism is generally interpreted to have involved seawater-derived fluids, but the trace element contents of the coronitic and matrix amphiboles do not differ significantly from those of the original minerals (i.e., clinopyroxene and plagioclase). One sample of gabbro mylonite (KH07–02-D18–1) contains amphiboles with high concentrations of light rare earth elements, indicating a large influx of externally derived LREE-enriched fluids. These fluids are interpreted to have formed from an interaction between hydrous silicate melt with LREE-enriched composition and seawater-derived fluid. Our results suggest that multiple phases of melt–fluid infiltration occurred during the development of the detachment fault at the Godzilla Megamullion.
•Multiple melt–fluid infiltration events occurred along detachment shear zones within the medial area of the GM.•The gabbro mylonites from the medial area are interpreted to have been deformed in a melt-bearing environment.•Two features of the metamorphic reactions during shear deformation under hydrous condition can be identified.•Retrograde metamorphic reaction with a low water/rock ratio occurs within detachment shear zones.•Metamorphic reaction with LREE-enriched fluids may reflect a large influx of fluids or significant water–rock interaction.
Crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs) of olivine within natural peridotites are commonly depicted by pole figures for the 100, 010, and 001 axes, and they can be categorized into five ...well-known fabric types: A, B, C, D, and E. These fabric types can be related to olivine slip systems: A with (010)100, B with (010)001, C with (001)001, D with {0kl}100, and E with (001)100. In addition, an AG type is commonly found in nature, but its origin is controversial, and could involve several contributing factors such as complex slip systems, non-coaxial strain types, or the effects of melt during plastic flow. In this paper we present all of our olivine fabric database published previously as well as new data mostly from ocean floor, mainly for the convergent margin of the western Pacific region, and we introduce a new index named Fabric-Index Angle (FIA), which is related to the P-wave property of a single olivine crystal. The FIA can be used as an alternative to classifying the CPOs into the six fabric types, and it allows a set of CPOs to be expressed as a single angle in a range between −90° and 180°. The six olivine fabric types have unique values of FIA: 63° for A type, −28° for B type, 158° for C type, 90° for D type, 106° for E type, and 0° for AG type. We divided our olivine database into five tectonic groups: ophiolites, ridge peridotites, trench peridotites, peridotite xenoliths, and peridotites enclosed in high-pressure metamorphic rocks. Our results show that although our database is not yet large enough (except for trench peridotites) to define the characteristics of the five tectonic groups, the natural olivine fabrics vary in their range of FIA: 0° to 150° for the ophiolites, 40° to 80° for the ridge peridotites, −40° to 100° for the trench peridotites, 0° to 100° for the peridotite xenoliths, and −40° to 10° for the peridotites enclosed in high-pressure metamorphic rocks. The trench peridotites show a statistically unimodal distribution of FIA consisting of the high peak equivalent of the A type, but with some FIAs close to the AG and D types. The variations in the olivine fabrics in the trench peridotites could result from variations in deformation within the supra-subduction uppermost mantle, possibly related to evolution of the mantle since the subduction initiation of the Pacific plate.
•We present olivine fabric database in the western Pacific convergence region.•We introduce a new index named Fabric-Index Angle to clarify fabric type.•Our olivine database is divided into five tectonic groups.•Azimuthal anisotropy observed in West Pacific Plate can be related to olivine fabric type.
A large portion of the middle to lower crust beneath the continents and oceanic island arcs consists of amphibolites dominated by hornblende and plagioclase. We have measured P and S wave velocities ...(Vp and Vs) and anisotropy of 17 amphibole‐rich rock samples containing 34–80 vol % amphibole at hydrostatic pressures (P) up to 650 MPa. Combined petrophysical and geochemical analyses provide a new calibration for mean density, average major element contents, mean Vp‐P and Vs‐P coefficients, intrinsic Vp and Vs anisotropy, Poisson's ratios, the logarithmic ratio Rs/p, and elastic moduli of amphibole‐rich rocks. The Vp values decrease with increasing SiO2 and Na2O + K2O contents but increase with increasing MgO and CaO contents. The maximum (≤0.38–0.40 km/s) and minimum S wave birefringence values occur generally in the propagation direction parallel to Y and normal to foliation, respectively. Amphibole plays a critical role in the formation of seismic anisotropy, whereas the presence of plagioclase, quartz, pyroxene, and garnet diminishes the anisotropy induced by amphibole crystallographic preferred orientations (CPOs). The CPO variations cause different anisotropy patterns illustrated in the Flinn diagram of Vp(X)/Vp(Y)‐Vp(Y)/Vp(Z) plots. The results make it possible to distinguish, in terms of seismic properties, the amphibolites from other categories of lithology such as granite‐granodiorite, diorite, gabbro‐diabase, felsic gneiss, mafic gneiss, eclogite, and peridotite within the Earth's crust. Hence, amphibole, aligned by dislocation creep, anisotropic growth, or rigid‐body rotation, is the most important contributor to the seismic anisotropy of the deep crust beneath the continents and oceanic island arcs, which contains rather little phyllosilicates such as mica or chlorite.
Key Points
New calibration of seismic velocities and anisotropy of amphibole‐rich rocks
Amphibolites are abundant in the crust beneath continents and oceanic islands
Amphibole plays a critical role in the formation of seismic anisotropy
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